Full Moon

This is the view from outide our apartment of the very bright moon behind the ever-changing colourful Taipei 101. Best I could do on night mode with no tripod.

Taipei 101 and Moon

What happens when you don't hold the camera still. (=

Happy Moon Festival!

Well, it's that time of year again - Mid-Autunm or Moon Festival. Last year we had a day off, this year it's a Sunday. Pooh. I felt like boycotting Moon Festival in protest. However, the moon was too bright, the night too magical, and heh, it's a holiday, a good time to celebrate!

So five of us went out for dinner. We stopped on the way to take pictures of the very bright moon behind a very rainbow Taipei 101. Our dinner was at this incredible little Greek restuarant. The owners were so sweet (they gave us all free dessert)! It was just like the Friendly Greek, and we all adore Greek food. We just kept saying "This is SO good."

So I'll put the photos up tommorrow.

One last thing - I was wondering if anyone can tell me whether the moon in North America is in the same stage as Taiwans? My mind does not comprehend that whole planet orbital thing. So look outside tonight, and let me know if the moon is the brightest its been all year. You could try to explain to me why, but I doubt I'd understand!

Not for the faint of heart...

Just for those of you who have no daily contact with disgusting insects, here is one of our friendly cockroaches. Well, he is the wrong side up - they do that when they die. And if you look closely, you'll notice he's lying in a pool of cockroach-killer spray. We find it's best to douse the cockroach fully in the spray just to be sure.

They are usally about 1-2 inches long, but it's those really long feeler thingys that get to me. Gives me the shivers!

A Weekend of Sorts

It's been a busy weekend, finishing up my Gender/Development paper. Pretty good, compared to my other papers, I believe. At least it's a lot more of my unique thoughts and a lot less of my overdependence on other author's quotes. (Kathy writes the same way I do. We realized it's because of the way we were taught to write research papers with ABeka. The whole reliance on notecards from high school transferred to our reliance on source quotes in university. Oh well, it got us good grades even if it didn't teach us to think for ourselves).

Yesterday was the first Saturday class. On the good news side, all of the wonderful students from last year signed up again this year. On the bad news side, all those students told their friends, so I went from 17 students last semester to 31 this semester. Still, I'll enjoy teaching the class, but it won't be as cohesive of a class. And I'm flattered that all my kids enjoy the class so much. THere's a sneaky little voice in the back of my head that says they like it because it's fun, we play games, and I don't yell at them in Chinese. Even if that is the case, that's not so bad.

A real post

I've realized that it's been a while since I've written a real post. Here goes.

Fu-Hsing remains, in my estimation, the best school in Taiwan! I've been so excited to get back to my classes and see all my students. I'm certainly lucky - I have mostly all the same students, so there's not too many names to learn. And I still have the top ten percent of the students, so classes are generally easy to run because almost all my students have a good grasp of English. I'm definitely a Junior High teacher at heart, grade 7 and 8s are my favorites. I'm getting into the swing of Grade 1, but it's a little bit too much like babysitting. Crowd control for 42 little munckins is not my forte. I've been roped into teaching a Grade 1 after-school class, which is insult to injury, because it comes at the end of a very long day of teaching. I'm starting my Grade 7-8 Saturday Club Writing Class this weekend, which I'm pumped about. That was by far my favorite class last year, and I'm so excited all the kids signed up for it again this year. I'm doing a bit of tutoring as well, trying to get all the extra income I can.

The apartment is wonderful, it's just like we chose to live together! Each night people bring their dinner home and we sit around the living room watching Friends DVDs and sharing the internet. No cockroaches since I put out the traps I bought in Canada. It's swell.

My life is pretty much limited to work and going back to the apartment. Oh, with trips to the gym in between. Last weekend, I bought enough food to spend the entire 48 hours at home - reading, lesson planning and writing my paper.

It's not a very exciting life, but it's very satisfying. Having such wonderful students almost tricks me into thinking I want to be a teacher long-term. Then I remember that I have the top 10 percent at one of the top schools in Taiwan, where parents push their kids and theres lots of overachievers. Somehow I think teaching in North America might turn out differently.

Garden View

I haven't had time to take any pictures in Taiwan yet, so I'm still going through my ones from this summer. This week is especially crazy - I'm trying to do all my curriculum and lesson planning in one go (yes, I had planned to do it this summer - but well, things change!), as well as finish my Gender and Development paper (I have a good chunck of it done - now it's mostly editing).

So this picture is of one of the beautiful statues in the Halifax Public Gardens. Aww.

Mount St. Vincent View

This was the view from the hill that Mt. St. Vincent University sits on. I had to climb the hill everynight to get from the bus stop to the dorm. It made me glad Huntington was on flat Indiana land. Anyway, this is the Halifax Container Port in the Bedford Basin, which would be what Mom and Dad would have a view of if they move to Bedford (a suburb of Halifax). One morning I was walking down the hill, and this huge container ship thingy was pulling it - called the "Kuala Lumpur Express." It reminded me of Chinese New Year, and I was once again amazed at how small the world is.

Pretty Taiwanese flowers

Too busy to blog - so why don't you just stop to enjoy the flowers.

Kathy

Last weekend, our school's principal Dr. Lee, invited all of us to a welcome dinner. The group pictures I put up a few days ago were taken inside Dr. Lee's apartment in the country. So we went to her apartment, then she took us to one of her favorite restaurants, called A Place. It was incredible, it looked just like it was taken from the Italian side and dropped in the field in Taoyuan. The food was incredible, Italian with a Taiwanese twist. A lovely treat.

"A Place"

The outdoor patio at "A Place."

Inside of "A Place"

Amber and Puppy

Dr. Lee has two new puppies, very small and very cute. Kathleen and I are not 'dog people' so a pat on the head and a "oh, so cute!" sufficed. However, some of the other teachers were in second heaven with two puppies to play with.

Ikea fun and excitement

This is the chair / bed that I bought when Claire came to visit. I couldn't get it put together with a regular screwdriver, so this summer I bought the fancy/cheap electric screwdriver from Wal-Mart. I still think that Ikea made a mistake, some of the holes were definitely too small, and I had to redrill them. Still, after an hour or two I had a lovely chair to relax on.

update

I realized that I forgot to give a little update on my current emotional and mental state.
Long story short, I'm really happy to be back in Taiwan. Life is good.
I was certainly anxious about leaving my idyllic life in Halifax, but I didn't really have to worry. My job is incredible - I am so lucky to have found such an excellent position on my first try. I have incredibly supportive supervisors, friendly Taiwanese co-workers, and really super students. Every day I'm relatively excited to go to school. I feel like I have a job that makes a difference and means something.
And in what must truly be a benevolent act of God, the weather has been moderate the last few days. It's still sunny and warm, over 30 Celsius and 80% plus humidity, but there's been an unusual cool breeze that makes the air seem fresher and the weather seem much more manageable.
The house situation is ten times better. Right now it's Friday night around midnight. Last fall, I would be sitting on the couch by myself, home alone watching a movie. Tonight, the six of us are all sitting around, listening to cds (alternating "Canadian" and "American" - East Coast music or hip hop), and chatting. It feels like the days of college dorms, only a few years beyond. And as one of my favorite quotes goes: "Wherever you are, it is your friends who make your world."

New Group of Teachers

The 'foreign' teaching staff at Fu-Hsing is quite different this year:
Kathy's doing Travel
I'm teaching Advanced English (Dr. Lee is standing between us.)
Sitting:
Amber from Wisconsin teaches Drame
Jason from Washington teaches PE and lives at school, literally.
Stephanie from Ottawa is back and teaches Newspaper
Demetra is from Arizona and teaches Movies.
Corinne, not pictured, is from California, and teaches Remedial English.
It's a great group, it makes a big difference in morale to have a happy work and home situation.

The Administration

These are all the great people I get to work with and for at Fu-Hsing. They make my job so enjoyable, I've never had such a supportive workplace.
Dr. Lee, standing. Sitting: Dorcas, David, Phoebe, and Rachel.

Sunflower

These are some flower shots I took on my last walk through the Public Gardens, the evening before I left Halifax.

fall flowers

fall flower

bloom

center

My first view of the Rockies

Well, I finally made it to Canada's west coast. Took me long enough. The Rockies were beautiful from the plane window. I did think it odd that I saw the Himalayas, Andes, and Alps before the Rockies!

Vancouver Skyline

This is the Vancouver skyline. Since I had such a short time there (less than 24 hours) I decided to swallow my pride and just take a tour. I got to see the downtown, Stanley Park, Granville Island, Yaletown, etc. It took up the entire afternoon.

Lighthouse

That Rock Person Thingy

Dominion Hotel

After trapising around the city for a few hours, it was time to find my hotel, which was right downtown. I had debated forking out tons of money for a 'real hotel', because I had no desire to stay in another hostel, however I found the Dominion Hotel on hostelworld.com and decided to give it a try. It cost $70 a night! A lot more than a hostel. Still, I was attracted to it, because the description said that each room was unique and decorated by a different local artist.

When I checked in, the reception and hallways seemed scarily rundown. I think it used to be a halfway house. Anyway, the actual hotel was much nicer, and I had to read all the different bios outside each door. I got a room designed by Vicky Alexander, and it had circular cut-outs of sky on white walls, with black curtians, a white duvet, etc. And my own washroom attached, definitely better than a hostel. Full cable on the tv, and I was entirely happy with my $70 purchase.

Gastown

So, I had never been to Vancouver before and it was just pure luck the hotel I choose was right downtown. The area, Gastown, was actually really nice, with cobblestone streets and hanging plants. This is the famous steam clock, which is special because its old and it uses steam to run. I have to admit, I felt somewhat ambivalent about it. The crowds of tourists staring at it dampened my enthusiasm.

Dinner View

To end my very short time in Vancouver, I had a relaxing dinner at a new little restaurant in Gastown, called the Black Frog. They had only been open a week, and the service was great, food tasty and prices resonable.

I had my choice of tables, and sat by the open windows, looking out over the Vancouver harbour and this, the Canada Place thingy. The sunset was gorgeous, and it was nice to just sit, stare and think about transitioning between here and there.

Black Frog

These were the fresh flowers on my table at the Black Frog. I alternated staring at the view and taking pictures of the flowers!

Barrage coming...

Goodmorning! I had a lovely relaxing weekend, I got 7 pages written for my Filipina Migrant Workers paper. We also had a big Welcome shindig hosted by our principal Dr. Lee. I have lots of photos to put up, and I'll post a bunch during my lunch break today. Get ready!

Survived it

We survived Typhoon Talim. Actually it didn't seem that bad, we got off work an hour early, it came at night, and was pretty much over in the morning. We still got our typhoon day though, and I unpacked everything, reorganized my room, and put together my IKEA chair. It was a very nice bonding typhoon night, with the rain and the wind storming, the six of us girls sat around the living room eating chocolate and watching dvds. The living situation is a great improvement over last year, and the apartment feels like home.
This morning I had my three grade 1 classes, and they are very cute! They seem to be so earnest and loving. The grade 1s are the only ones that changes, otherwise I have nearly all the same students. Thank goodness! Otherwise I'd have 400 new names to learn.
I meant to put up my Vancouver photos, but the internet is down at the apartment (Noooo!) So you'll have to wait. I have come down with a massive sinus cold - must be something to do with the air / humidity / snotty-nosed children.

Typhoon Tarim

Here comes a typhoon. The weather fluctuates between sunny with showers, rainy and windy, to stormy and dry. It's crazy. School's closing early, and then we should have tommorrow off. Thank goodness. If I ever needed a typhoon day it's now. I'll feel so much better about being back in Taiwan when I have all my stuff unpacked and organized, and I have my lesson plans and curriculum ready. I still have my final paper for Gender and Empowerment class to write, but I'll worry about that later.

P.S. I got my grades for my first two classes back, both A-. That's much better than I had expected for Security, and a bit of a disappointment for Human Rights. Either way, I think it's good enough to help my masters' applications.

I'll put up some pictures from Vancouver, etc. tommorrow. Well, until we lose power. (=

Arrived in Taipei

I'm in Taipei. Let's not dwell on how I feel about this. Actually, on the positive side, I saw some of my students leaving the school and it made me smile, but other than that I'm feeling sad. The jet lag isn't that bad, because I stayed over night in Vancouver, but I have a sick, melancholy feeling. I'll be fine tommorrow morning, and even better if the Typhoon comes this weekend, then we might have a typhoon day off school on Thursday or Friday. Of course, typhoons are fun except in the case of Katrina, which seems so scary.

Anyway, don't worry- I expect my mood to improve. I'll wait until it does before I tell you all about the last of my time in Halifax and my day in Vancouver.

o

One week!

This will be me, one week from today. Fun? I hope so.

The crazy thing is I have at least 27 pages of assignments to write before then.

Oh, and let me say, last night as I was trying to finish up the last few pages of my scrapbook from the last year, I realized I was missing the month of May. The entire month of May, all my pictures were gone from my computer. Yikes! That's what I don't like about digital, too easy to accidently delete a file! Thankfully, I made back ups of all my pictures, so I'm sending them to Wal-Mart to get done today!

I'm melting...

Sad news. Today I met with the Dalhousie IDS (International Development Studies) Graduate Coordinator. To make a long story short he was very nice in gently informing me that I have a 'snowball's chance in hell' to get into the Dal IDS Master's programme. They have over 150 applicants, and take about 15. Most applicants have their undergrad degree in IDS. He was very a very nice guy, and gave me some suggestions to improve my application, but he was very upfront about how competitive it was, and that it was almost like a 'lottery.'

I am not too upset though. I am glad I have a more realistic view now. I will certainly be looking at other schools to apply to as well, including St. Mary's in Halifax. He said, as I had already assumed, that my grades from these three summer classes would be "extremely" important. No pressure, eh?! We shall see, we shall see.

So, I'm off to work on my last class and maker sure it's an A! I'm pretty excited about my paper, it's on female Philippine migrant workers in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. I enjoy creating links between what I experienced every day on the streets of Taipei and the current academic research. And if I ever do get to do my Masters, I'm pretty sure my thesis will have to be focused on the Asian sphere, probably specifically China and Co.

New CD

Alright, so I sheepishly bought Theresa Sokyrka's album "These Old Charms." For those of you who don't know why I should be so embarrassed: Theresa was the Runner-up in last summer's Canadian Idol competition. Yes, I bought an 'idol' cd. Still, she is the only competitor in any of the US or Canadian shows that I've ever really liked. (the British version is another story). And frankly, it's a great cd, underproduced, earthy, relaxed, Canadian. Cheap too, because it's on a small Canadian label, Maple Music. She's coming in concert on Saturday, but I, sadly, leave Saturday morning. So, I bought her cd, in hopes that she'll stick in the Canadian market, and I'll be able to buy her next cd!

P.S. Funny story. After I bought the cd, I was sitting in a sidewalk cafe, reading the newspaper and enjoying my coffee. One of the guys from my class walked by, and happened to ask what cds I had bought. The one day I buy an 'idol' cd! I admitted it, but I think I turned red. (=

Kathy's work

This is Kathy's shot of Frangipani in the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Isn't it pretty? She didn't even do a 'glow' filter, that's an unedited shot. Lovely. She has more of her pictures up on her travel blog.

Saturday Morning

I successfully changed dorms this morning. Mount St. Vincent University is quite nice, reminds me of Huntington a bit. It's outside of Halifax, in a suburb called Bedford. The bus in is quick, so I came to 'town' to finish up my errands. Thank goodness for MEC, I got a cheap duffell that will carry everything I need, and not break like the Wal-mart junk.

My new phone number is (902) 457-0899. I'll be there until Saturday morning, the 27th, when I fly to Vancouver.

Crunch Day

Come Back to Taiwan!

Today is crunch day, when everything is due. Fortunately I'm am on schedule and feeling fine. (=

Part of that is because I got an email from Kathy saying that Pong (Taiwanese housemate whose family is always in the apartment) will be moving out, because we have two new young female English teachers moving in. So, I am SOOO much more excited about going back to Taiwan to live with 6 peers. I think the whole Pong, culture, mess, language, angry issue was a real reason I wasn't excited about moving back. I've come to realize that a sense of 'home' that is a safe and comfortable place is the key to living in any culture. That makes me much more ready to face Taiwan. When cockroaches invade my safe space, well that's something else. It will make me a stronger woman.

I wrote the names of some of my favorite students on a little piece of paper and pinned it up on my bulletin board. Whenever I think about leaving Halifax in a week, and feel sad, I think about how rewarding it is to see them every day, and how much I want to get to teach them again.

Temptation comes in all forms

So much has been happening in my mind and my life, and I have a great desire to write a nice long blog entry.

But, I also have the common sense to realize that 90% of that desire comes from the fact that I only have this small window of opportunity to finish editing my paper and print it off.

Get behind me, Procrastination!

All that to say...Talk to you later! (=

The envy of all who read...

I'm sorry to have to tell you about today, because I can pretty much guarantee that 9/10 of my readers (are there ten of you? Maybe that's a bit optimistic!) will be very envious and wish they could change places with me.

Today I started a course called "Empowerment, Gender and Development." I was really looking forward to it, and our first class today (From 1-4:30!) was everything I had hoped for and more. Without jinxing it, I think this could be one of my favorite classes of all time. It's everything I'm passionate about in so many different areas of life. Today was introduction, so the 24 women and 3 men took turns telling a little bit about themselves. Then we split up into pairs and talked about the one time we felt most empowered or disempowered. My group was disempowered, which was a bit vulnerable, but it was very helpful to hear every one's stories and really start to look at what can make women feel empowered, and what can help the poor / enfrancised be empowered. It especially seems relevant to my post a few days ago about women in leadership. I was thinking alot about what it would take to empower women in the church. I think I'll end up doing something along the lines of religion for my final research paper. I was talking with Heidi this weekend, and she had some really interesting thoughts about the Pope's view of women, as the Roman Catholic view of women. I think it would be interesting to look at the effect that has in some Southern nations that are predominantly Roman Catholic, and how Mary as the ideal female either empowers or disempowers the women who live within those societies.

But Mary will have to wait for another day - this is my crunch week. Class all afternoon, now I'm off for a quick dinner, then my Human Security class this evening! )= We have a guest speaker whose supposedly an expert in the field of blood diamonds, so that sounds interesting. I need to go eat now.
Oh, and get well soon Benoit!

Teasing

Kathy posted about her run-in with the Malaysian fish. I think it's hilarious that she's afraid of little fish. Too bad, I think snorkeling is great fun.

Last night I sat for 5 hours in front of the tv and scrapbooked. I watched While You Were Out, Rehersal Hall: Sarah Harmer, While You Were Out "Royal Renovation" Special, then Rehersal Hall: Feist. Delightful Evening. I got 10 pages done. I have 21 to go. That's 10 hours of scrapbooking to finish this week. I can do it, just two hours after class each evening, right?

So tommorrow is crunch week - an almost 4 hour afternoon class, quick dinner, then my 2 hour evening class. It's going to fly by. Good news, I have both of my first two classes' research papers finished. I'm editing them tommorrow morning, then turning them in, both a week early. See, I'm not a procrastinator when I don't have anything to distract me!

I'm off now for a hummus sandwhich and greek salad at the coffee shop. I've been working all morning, and it's now 3pm and I'm starving, and ever so shaky from two coffees and a diet coke. Whoa.

MicMac Mall

Did you know, the minute I stepped inside the mall last night, I knew I had been there before, and probably could have drawn a pretty accurate floor plan? Isn't that odd? I remember being there with Kathy and Jill, and we were shopping for Christmas presents, specifically I remember Jill getting a garden troll for Mario, and all of us getting Monkey socks at Bluenotes. It was probably 1999, the only time I've been to that mall, and I remember the entire thing (nothing else about that trip, though). Actually, I think I remember the layout of every mall I've ever been in. It just shows how spatially / visually oriented I am. It's like my super-power. Well, at least it means I'll never get lost, I can always backtrack based on visual reminders.

P.S. What's with the eggs? Well, they were 75% off at Chapters. Easter wan't that long ago, was it? They're truffle eggs from Belgian or something, and boy, are they good.

Good for another week

Shopping last night was exactly what I needed to 'center' myself. It really isn't the 'shopping' that does it, it's more the space to move quietly, think, sit, breathe. It would be the same experience in an art gallery. Although, you can't get the cutest necklace ever at an art gallery! Yes, I said I wasn't going to buy much, and I didn't. Except, for one little splurge, something that *gasp* wasn't on sale. (Almost everything I have ever bought has been on sale). It's from Smart Set, and it's just the perfect everyday necklace, with lots of colours to match, and no pretension (buttons are a little more down to earth than gems). To me, it looks like it belongs on an ecentric writer lady who lives in the century old house, eh? I can only dream.

But, after I bought the necklace, I had to put it on. Later, two different sales assistants complimented me on it - the sign that I made the correct $15 splurge purchase.

Success!

Ah-ha! I have completed my first Cryptigram. I was inspired by the fact that my grandmother does one every morning, and I had not previously been able to finish one without first screaming and ripping up the poor newspaper in frustration. But today, I sat down, and decided to try yet again, and this time it worked. To be fair, I think it was quite an easy one. Still lesson learned:

"A perfect democracy is the most shameless thing in the world." -Edmund Burke

I'm so proud of it, I cut it out of the paper. I might even try to fit it into my security/ development paper on the Chinese Communist Party's repression. (=

Current Finds

Guilty Pleasure: Lou Lou


Listening: Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days




Reading: Don DeLillo, The Body Artist

Happy as a Lark

As predicted, today has been a super-duper day! After my depressing blog entry last night, I headed to class, which ended up being a guest speaker, who was excellent. Kirk somebody or other, whose the head of counter-terrorism, counter-organized crime for the UN mission in Kosovo. It was great to hear all about the problems with the UN, from someone who has obviously chosen to work through those issues, instead of dismissing the entire system. Afterwards, the professor, speaker, and a couple students went out to talk further. I, as usual, ended up sitting and listening for most of the time, but I greatly enjoyed it. Especially the half an hour or so conversation on the Chinese threat to Taiwan. Hmm.

So, other happy news: I just finished my entire paper, 12 pages. Only took a few hours. I always get discouraged by spending so much time researching, the writing is so easy in comparision. And the best news is, I had twice as many notes and quotes as I needed, but this time, I have a whole other paper to write. So, I basically did all my research for two papers without knowing it. It's not the same paper, I'm writing two entirely different ones, but to do with the general topics of Chinese government repression. Lovely, happy, stuff.

Now, I'm off to go shopping as a little treat. I'm not planning on buying much, but I just want to sit in Chapters. And, I feel like going to Scholar's Choice for school supplies. No one likes going back to school at the end of summer, but new school supplies make it more enjoyable, I'm hoping it works the same for teachers.

Hope you're all having equally happy days!

Uugh

Not especially happy today. I spent most of the day working on a research paper, but still have so far to go. I'm running out of time! And I got my teaching schedule for the fall, which makes me want to run and hide under a bush. No changes really, well - grade 1s instead of grade 2s, but that was expected.

I got my test of definitions back and was not happy with my grade. It's this whole Canadian grading thing. I feel like I failed, when really I think I was closer to the upper end of the pack. Still, I'm disappointed.

I was thinking today how nice it would be to be a thinker rather than a feeler. Some days I would certainly rather not have my emotions dictating me. Hmm. I guess I can't change it. Tommorrow will probably be a happy day and make up for today!

A Sunny Day

Well, I have unfortuantely been holed up in my dorm room slaving over my class work. Outside, Halifax is deliciously warm, as hot as I like it. Yesterday the temperature, according to the paper, reached 30. Still, I haven't felt 'sweaty' once. Summer as it's made to be - enjoyable!

Working instead of playing means that I don't have any new pictures. This is a sunflower shot I took at the public gardens last week. It makes me feel happy. (=

Some of my current diversions...

I'm going to take that reading list off my sidebar, because I haven't changed it since I put it on. Really, I do read quicker than that. Although I'm currently overwhelmed by the 20 some books sitting above my desk waiting to be read and processed into research papers, the two books I'm really reading are:

The Lexus and The Olive Tree, by Thomas L. Friedman. Yes, it's on globalization and it probablly will make it's way into a paper, but it still counts as 'fun' reading, because I'm enjoying it. Its, let's say, less academic. In other words, readable!

Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham. I just got this from the library today. I LOVED the Hours, and the movie was really just icing on the cake. So, according to a few blogs, his new book is similiar, this time structured around Walt Whitman. I'm going to take it to the sea, sit in the grass, and read it under the sun.

For music, I'm enjoying a few new cds: Drunkard's Prayer by Over the Rhine, which I knew I would love, and I do. Michelle made me a great cd with Feist and Arcane Fire. I'm not sold on Arcane Fire yet, but I love Feist. I trust Michelle to point out the really great Canadian musicians, becuase otherwise my cd collection would be a little US heavy. And finally, I'm very impressed with David Crowder Band's Sunsets and Sushi. I was so sick of 'worship music' I thought I would never be able to buy one of those prepackaged American cds again, but thankfully, Sunsets and Sushi was excellent (and entirely different.) Okay, so I'll put the David Crowder Band onto my list of all-time favorites.

For television, I delight in a weekly episode of Monarch of the Glen. Other than that, I'm trying to limit my TLC intake, because as some of you know, once you start, TLC can suck 3 or 4 hours out of your day without you noticing. But, While You Were Out I consider to be worthy of my precious time. Finally, a new show I've just fallen in love with is Slings & Arrows. Yes, Slings and arrows, like from Shakespeare. It's a Canadian show on Showcase, about a Shakespeare festival, like Stratford. It's filmed mostly in Toronto, I think, the last episode I recognized the lobby of the Phantages Theatre (I suppose it's called the Canon now, but that's just sad). It has Paul Gross and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) in it. It's hilarious, and just so very Canadian.

Snow Angels under the stars

I'll tell you, the closer I get to the end of the summer; the more stressed I get. I just feel like I am being dragged away from a beautiful, peaceful, intrinsically nice country to a sweatshop. Literally. And I have to drag myself away kicking and screaming: "But I want stars, and sunsets, and snow angels!"

This rant was motivated by the feeling I get every evening when I walk out of class into a still, pink world. The sunsets here in Halifax are divine, and I didn't see a single sunset my entire time in Taiwan. I find it hard to believe that you can't see a sunset anywhere in Taiwan, I assume it has more to do with the fact that Taipei is in a smog-filled valley, and I am always surrounded by tall buildings. But there's never even a hint of pink in the grey gunk that is the sky in Taipei. No clouds floating through, carrying all shades of lilac and salmon. No soft breeze that smells like the salty sea. *remorseful sigh*

The other thing I was remembering was Millenium's Eve, when Kathy, Jill and I wandered up the hill behind Grammie's house, and laid down in the crunchy thick snow, made snow-angels and stared up at the starriest sky I've ever seen. *remorseful sigh*

A Lovely Saturday Night

This was one of my favorite parts of my overall wonderful weekend in Mapleton.
It was Saturday night, and Grammie and I stayed home from the 50th Anniversary Bash (Aunt D brought home squares, anyway!). There was nothing on TV, so Grammie played the piano. She started out trying to play from the books, like Chopin and such. She was having a bit of trouble, so she decided to just play from ear. Wow, it's incredible that she can remember all those beautiful and complicated songs at the age of 91 (?). It made me so happy that she has such a great qualitity of life, and it also made me think about how most of my female ancestors lived into their 90's. So that means I likely have a good 70 years of life left. That makes me feel a sense of relief, that I don't have to rush to start trying to fit in all I want my life to be. I've got some time. (=

Patty

Patty has come into her own, since the sad death of Netta. She looks like she's enjoying her new Alpha female status, no?

Which reminds me, you should read about poor Mrs. Watson, the cat. Her photo reminds me of my kitten Emma who died. (Remember that batch of kittens that all got sick. So sad.) oh well, enough about cats getting sick and dying. That's too depressing for an extreme cat lover like me.

Catching up on posts

I love getting back from a few days away from the internet. It's so exciting to get to read multiple new posts on my favorite blogs. There were two posts that really touched me and made tears come to my eyes (not good - this is a computer lab, for goodness' sake). One was good tears, the other hurt tears.

The good one: Real Live Preacher's Essay Big Numbers and Little Girls

The sad one: The comments to Bobbie's Emerging Sideways post about, well, I suppose the lack of understanding in some emergent leadership. It's fascinating. I'd love to be able to use it for my gender, feminism and development class. It starts with a few different women commenting and agreeing with Bobbie's hurt, you can really sense the emotional emphathy. Then, enter a few dominant male leadership types, bringing a sort of black and white defense of their position. Then the women come back in and try to knit all the voices together and get everyone to some sort of consensus.

It made me sad, because I've felt that male leadership dominance that claims to be completely open to women in leadership, yet really sticks to the traditional leadership roles that exclude women. One thing I found really interesting, when I checked out the sites of the men who were being criticized and were criticizing back, they could have been written by any of the pastors / leaders I've known over the years. It's that one 'type' that rises to the top in the business world and the church as well.

On Pagitt's site, he has the same personality test results that I have on mine. The Enneagram. He's a type 8: a Challenger."The Powerful, Dominating Type: Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational" I'm a type 5: an Investigator. "The Intense, Cerebral Type: Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated." There's no competition there. Obviously, there would have to be a commpletely new understanding of what 'leadership' in the emergent church looks like, if there were ever to be a place for a female type 5, instead of being ruled by the type 8 males.

That's my two cents. Let it be said that I really know nothing, know none of these people, and don't think through my opinions before I write them. Disclaimer!

feels like friday

So, it feels like Friday. Tomorrow I'm taking the bus to Springhill to spend the weekend with Grammie and the Aunts. (= I'm quite excited. However, before that I must plow my way through a 'test on definitions' in this evening's class. On one hand, I feel confident, because it seems exactly the same process I perfected in my Mainstreams of Civilization classes at Huntington. On the other hand, I feel like my lack of knowledge of the political terms somewhat prohibits me from making stuff up that sounds good, which is an integral part of essay tests. We'll see.

For example, there are two new terms that seem to come up in every article and every lecture in this class and the last. I figured out what they meant from the context, then looked them up later. Anyone know what hegemony or diasporas are? I'd let you guess, but then what if everyone knew what they meant then I'd feel stupid and so on.

So, hegemony is "The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others." My first professor said she defines it is "who sets the rules of the game." Interesting, eh? You can use it in lots of ways and sound quite smart.

Second, diasporas is: " A dispersion of a people from their original homeland; also, the community formed by such a people." I find this especially helpful for describing the communities around Thornhill. Diaspora. (=

P.S. Kathy's bashing around Australia. She got to go to Target. That's just not fair. If you want to read her adventures, she has started a rather ugly blog: Kathleen in Asia. She's given me permission to pretty it up, which I intend to do, after this little test tonight.
Also, is everyone as impressed with Michaelle Jean as I am? I was watching her live this afternoon, speaking about her appointment as Governor General and her passion for Haiti, and I just thought she was the so eloqent, passionate and sincere. Perhaps its because she's a journalist and not a politician. If only I was a Haitian immigrant who could speak 5 languages, perhaps I could aspire to be Governer General someday.

Summer Reading

I haven't updated that reading list on the sidebar in months. Trust me, I do read books a bit faster than that. This book, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was on some bloggers Books Meme that was going around awhile back. I made a note to get it from the library, and was thrilled at the old, 1950's edition they had. It's a short book, really perfect to read on vacation, by the ocean. The title is literal you see, and she discusses different shells as pictures into a more simple yet full life. Enjoyable, especially when I could sit by the Ocean to read it.

Summer Colours

I didn't touch this picture at all, it really was that blue and that yellow.

Halifax Harbour

Ah, a Sunday afternoon, a bench and a cool (okay, cold) ocean breeze at Point Pleasant Park.

Oh dear...

I'm very comfortable flying. But every so often when we're landing or taking off I think about that documentary I saw as a teenager about how almost all airplane crashes happen on take off or landing. I just saw the news that an Air France flight crashed landing in T.O. I hope it's not as bad as it looks in the picture.

A morning dip

The birds in the bird bath made me laugh. Everything about this weekend seemed lovely and fresh and new. I really had a wonderful long weekend, and finally felt relaxed enough to go into vacation mode. Of course, now it's Tuesday and I am again overwhelmed at all the things I need to fit into the next few weeks. Still, one of my goals this summer was to explore Halifax and that was what I did. (Of course, now I don't want to leave!)

The Farmer's Market

This is the center of the Farmer's Market at Keith's Brewery downtown Halifax. It spreads out in all directions, up and down. It's huge, and pretty busy. I could really get used to this, a Saturday morning walk with my backpack down to the market, for lots of lovely fresh fruit, cheese and baked goods (like Pineapple Cherry Squares). Oh, and it's also the oldest Farmer's Market in North America. Halifax certainly has a lot of old things.

Fields of Lavender

The smell of lavender has grown on me. I used to associate it only with little old ladies, but now I think I associate it with aromatherapy massage. I had to buy a little bunch at the Farmer's Market to scent my dorm room.

Street Performers

And walking along the waterfront, I enjoyed bagpipers and awhile later, some girls Highland Dancing. It reminded me of when Kathy and I used to dance, so I actually gave them money for their "Scotland 2006" trip.

St. Paul's Anglican

This is the oldest church in Canada. I decided to go to this church because I knew where it was and what time it started. They have a lovely traditional service that uses the Book of Common Prayer and hymns. The service, in it's reverence and structure, was a bit like some of the post-modern services I've been to, minus the dark room, coffee and candles, of course!

Inside of St. Paul's

The inside of St. Paul's. You can't really tell, but the accent colour on the back wall and on the pipe organ is Dutch Blue. He-he. That's how I'd decorate a church. There are also lots of those gold plaques around, one of the tour books said it's supposed to be the church with the most memorial plaques. And there's a remnant stuck in the wall from the Halifax explosion, that's pretty cool. And there's a padded red velvet pew reserved for the Queen or the Royal Family, should they venture this way. Isn't that such a great church?

Stained Glass

I can never get enough of stained glass. When we went to that church picnic in Port Greville, the local corner store had an advertisement for stained glass panels from a demolished church for sale. I was ready to buy one for the time, decades in the future, when I own a house and could put in a stained window. I didn't buy one though. (=